Romanesque art in Galicia

Location

World you like to take a trip back to times of kings and feudal lords, of monasteries and ancient stone churches? Back to a fascinating world of strange religious symbols, surrounded by a halo of mystery? You will find all this in Galicia, where a legacy of first-rate Romanesque art awaits you. Real architectural gems located in magical spots that will carry you back to times gone by.

Galicia is home to a host of Romanesque style works of art. You will find many rural churches, grand cathedrals and monasteries, especially in the inland part of this northern Spanish region. There are granite monuments dating back to the Middle Ages, many of which are in a spectacular state of preservation, impressive for their sober appearance and artistic quality. They are treasures of incalculable value.

Around Ourense and Lugo, and also inland and on the coast of A Coruña and Pontevedra, Roman remains will enchant you and you will want to contemplate them from up close. Spectacularly grandiose buildings, such as Ourense cathedral or those of Lugo and Tui, the San Salvador and Santa María Monasteries and, of course, the Cathedral of Santiago, with its Pórtico de la Gloria doorway, a masterpiece of universal art. There are also a great many more modest buildings of interest, most of which are to be found in the countryside, away from the major towns, with a magical atmosphere. Locations of legend, mist and ivy, where old walls stained with damp rise up in luxuriant forests that call to mind times of the meigas (witches, ever-present in the traditional culture of Galicia), monks and knights.

Galicia, last stop on the Camino de Santiago (St. James' Way), has been a destination for pilgrims since time immemorial. It was in those times of worship of the apostle Santiago (St. James), back in the 10th and 11th centuries, when a great number of monasteries, churches, castles, bridges, stone crosses and shrines were built all over the region. This is medieval art which bears witness to an age of splendour, and which, today, is well worth discovering and preserving.

There are endless Romanesque gems awaiting you in Galicia. Why not come and explore any one of the region's provinces, in your own time. You will get to know Galicia's extraordinary architectural and artistic heritage, whose value is incalculable. This journey through history is just one of many possibilities awaiting you in Galicia - a beautiful, welcoming region of Spain.

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